Magazine bolt-gun



No. 609,600. Patented Aug. 23, I898. T. B. WILSON.

MAGAZINE BOLT GUN.

(Application filed Sept. 28, 1891.) (N0 MOdBl.) 3 Sheets$heet l.

k ".1; llllllmuml Patented Aug. 23, I898.

T. B. WILSON. MAGAZINE BOLT GUN.

{Application filed Sept. 28, 1891.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 -lflNN w 1 l1; lllll mvillnl I I I H W No. 609,600. Patented Aug. 23, I898. T. B. WILSON.

MAGAZINE BOLT GUN.

(Application filed Sept. 28, 1891.) (No Model.) 3 Shets-8heet 3.

NITED STATES (PATENT ()FFICE.

THOMAS H. WILSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES E. BILLINGS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

MAGAZINE BOLT-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,600, dated August 23, 1898.

Application filed September 28, 1891, Serial No. 406,990. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

lle it known that I, THOMAS B. WILSON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Magazine Firearms and Bolt-Guns, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

The object of my invention is to provide a construction wherein the employment of springs to feed the cartridges from the magazine to the receiver is entirely avoided and wherein the cartridges are fed by gravity and to provide a construction wherein the same may be employed as a single-loader with the same degree of convenience as if the arm were not a magazine-gun and a construction wherein the magazine is so located and so operates that the arm is not rendered cumbersome thereby, and, further, to provide a magazine which may be cut off from communication with the receiver without removing it therefrom and again opened at pleasure whether the magazine be loaded or empty.

My object is, further, to provide a con struction wherein the strain resulting from the employment of high explosives will not disarrange or in any manner affect the operation of the device; and my object is, generally, to construct a firearm which shall be simple in operation, of few parts, and free from the objections heretofore existing.

I accomplish the objects of my invention by the construction herein set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters and figures of reference indicate like parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating a part of the operative portions of my improved construction, the stock being in section and the bolt and magazine being in posi tion for the reception of a cartridge in the receiver. Fig.2 is a plan view of the same, the stock being shown in full lines and the bolt closed and locked in position ready for the explosion of the cartridge. Fig. 3 is a side view of the bolt as seen in its closed or locked position and with the extractor-bar, extractor, cockingpiece, and cocking-piece sleeve in position, the handle-bar being shown in section and all detached from the receiver. Fig. 4

is a like view with the bo t, extractor-bar, r and cocking-piece sleeve inlJongit-udinal section and showing in full lines the firing-pin head, firing-pin spindle, the cocking-piece, and mainspring, and illustrating also the position of the trigger and sear when the arm is cooked. Fig. 5 is a view of the handle-bar as seen from the stock end of the gun and detached therefrom. Fig. 6 is a like View of the cocking-piece sleeve. Fig. 7 is a view of the same as seen from its under side. Fig. 8

is a transverse sectional view taken on line a; a; of Fig. 2, showing the portion seen in ad- Vance of said line. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the magazine detached from the arm and having cartridges therein, and Fig. 10 is an end view of the magazine.

In detail, A indicates the stock; B, the receiver; D, the trigger-guard; E, the bolt; F, the handle-bar; G, the magazine; H, the bar rel; I, screws; J, the extractor-bar; K, the firing-pin head; L, the firing-pin spindle; M, the cocking-piece sleeve; N, the mainspring; O, the trigger; P, the sear, and R the cocking-piece.

a indicates a traverse-cam mounted on the rear end of the bolt; 17, a cam on the receiver against which the cam a bears to cause the same when rotated to move forward; 0, a lug on the forward end of the bolt; (1, a recess in the receiver into which the same fits when the bolt is locked; e, extractor-spring; f, extractor-catch; h,sear-spring; e',dovetailed projection on cocking-piece sleeve; j, dovetailed projection on bolt; is, sear catch; Z, point against which the sear bears at full cock; m, recess into which engaging point of the searcatch rests at half-cock; 'n, retaining-spring on the top of the extractor-bar; 0, retainingpin at the rear end of the extractor-bar; 1o, magazine-cover; r, finger-piece on the same;

8, cover-catch; 2f, spring to lock magazine in position. 5

The construction and operation are as follows:

The stock may be of the usual or any convenient form of construction. The receiver and framed portion connected therewith are secured to the stock in the usual manner and F he barrel secured to the receiver as heretoore.

The receiver-frame is formed with a plate 1, as shown in Fig. 8, and the magazine is mounted thereon in such manner that it may be moved vertically, and the receiver-frame is provided with an opening 2 to allow the cartridges to pass from the magazine to the receiver.

The magazine is constructed as illustrated in Fig. 9, and for convenience in operation and construction I prefer that it be formed with side flanges 3, which fit within overhanging flanges on the receiverframe. These flanges on the magazine are formed with a shoulder on their upper end, which will by engaging with the top of the receiver-frame prevent the magazine from being pushed too far down. It will be readily seen that the magazine can be raised and lowered at will in these grooves, so as to be out of the way when not in use. Iprefer also that the magazine be provided with a hinged cover and that the cover and spring-catch s be made integral with the body of the magazine, the same being formed by cutting in the back portion of the magazine, as shown in Fig. l, and forming a catch on the end thereof.

The cover 1) is provided with a thumb-piece T, which overhangs the body of the magazine, and the relative positions of the cover and spring-catch s and the thumb-piece r are such that if the finger bear against one and the thumb against the other the natural tendency will be to throw the spring backward and the cover upwardly, thus opening the cover with a single motion, which may be accomplished with great rapidity. The incline upon the catch is such that the spring will be forced outward when the cover is forced downward, and the cover will be locked with a single downward motion.

The magazine is preferably provided with one or more openings 4 in its exposed face, so that it may readily be ascertained without opening the cover whether there are cartridges in the magazine or not, and I prefer that one or more of these openings be of sufficient size to allow the finger to pass therein sufficiently to ascertain whether there are cartridges in the magazine or not, so that the contents may be known in the dark and without looking.

To further facilitate the ascertaining of the contents of the magazine, I provide the end which is toward the stock or butt with openings, as shown in Fig. 10, which openings may be of any convenient size or shape, and this end being directly in front of the person will enable him at all times to ascertain at a glance whether there are cartridges in the magazine or not.

The lower portion of the back plate of the magazine is cut away sufficiently to allow of the free passage of cartridges from the magazine to the receiver, and any convenient method may be employed of holding the magazine in its elevated or lowered position.

For purposes of simplicity I prefer to cut the face of the magazine and form therein a spring 25, which spring, being integral with the wall of the magazine and conforming thereto in shape, performs a double function. The lower free end of this spring projects a short distance beyond the straight or plane wall of the magazine and is adapted to enter recesses in the receiver-frame to hold the magazine in either its elevated or lowered position, and a catch is arranged in the receiver in the top portion at 5 to engage the magazine and prevent its being carried upwardly beyond its proper location. The tension of these springs is such that by the application of a moderate degree of force the magazine may be moved to either position, yet the springs will hold the same in fixed position under all ordinary circumstances. The shoulders 3 on the flanges 3 will prevent possibility of the magazine being forced downwardly too far, and engagement of the catch 5, as before stated, prevents its being raised too far.

The cover of the magazine is provided with a cut at its end, through which the handle portion 10 of the packet-holder projects.

The magazine when in action occupies a raised position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, and when not in use it is forced downward to its lowered position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. In such position, it will be seen, the magazine occupies but little space and does not increase the size of the arm but a trifle beyond the size which would ordinarily be employed for a single-loader.

If it is desired to use the arm as a singleloader, it will be seen that the openingin the receiver will be unobstructed and that the cartridges may be inserted after the bolt is withdrawn through the top opening in the receiver.

It will also be seen that the magazine may be loaded whether it be in its raised or lowered position and that the position of the gun during the loading is immaterial, thus giving a great advantage over many arms heretofore employed for military uses, and the arm may be loaded and fired without altering or varying its position, excepting that if it is desired to employ the magazine-feed when firing it is necessary that the gun be held in a position so that the magazine is at such elevation as will enable the cartridges to pass from the magazine to the receiver. This position will not be required to be vertical, but a trifling elevation from a horizontal position will be found sufficient, and in practice it is found that the arm will be at all times when in use held in such position that the cartridges will readily feed from the magazine to the receiver.

Some of the advantages of my form of construction and arrangement of. magazine and receiver will be seen in the fact that the only opening for the passage of the cartridges from the magazine to the receiver is located at the side of the receiver, so that the receiver-bottom is solid and continuous, and when the arm is used as a single-loader the cartridges will rest upon a solid bottom and danger of their being interrupted in the direct passage from the receiver to the explosion-chamber is entirely avoided, and the movement of the cartridges from the time of insertion into the magazine until they reach a position to be engaged by the bolt is in a direct line downwardly and laterally in one direction only, and at no time are the cartridges located below the level of the bolt, so that the feed is by gravity and the cartridges are not required to be lifted by the action of the bolt, excepting in so far as it becomes necessary to lift the cartridge the trifling distance required to carry it from the bolt-level to the explosion-chamber, and the objectionable construction wherein cartridges are required to traverse a zigzag course is avoided, as well as the acknowledged objectionable feature in an arm so constructed as to require the cartridge to be lifted any considerable distance is overcome, and, as before stated, the cartridges move only downwardly and toward the receiver and movement in other directions is avoided.

It will readily be seen that, if desired, a very light spring may be employed to force the cartridges from the magazine to the receiver regardless of the position of the gun, and it will also be seen that any method of hanging or uniting the magazine to the receiver may be employed without departing from my invention.

The bolt is constructed as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the same being adapted to move foward and back in the receiver in the usual manner and being adapted also to rotate a quarter-turn. The handle-bar F is mounted upon the bolt at its rear end and is preferably made integral therewith, and at the rear end of the bolt a cam or lug a is mounted, and the receiver is provided with a similar cam orlug 1), against which the cam abears, and by the rotation of the bolt when the handle-bar is turned downwardly the bolt is thrust forward with great power, thus forcing the cartridge home however tightly it may fit within the receiver, and the face of the portion of the receiver forming one wall of the groove in which the cam-lug (t traverses is shaped to follow the contour of the forward face of the camlug I), so that when the bolt is rotated to carry the handle-bar to its vertical position the bolt will be drawn backwardly with the same power or leverage that was exerted in the reverse motion. 1 find that the gain to give the best results under ordinary circumstances approximates one turn to the inch, thus giving in the quarter-turn an approximate camming distance of one-fourth of an inch.

It is found that the cartridges bind in being inserted and when the shell is being removed for from one-sixteenth to one-fourth of an inch and that if the camming arrangement be constructed to operate powerfully within those distances that the bolt may be moved for the remainder of its traverse with comparative ease.

The receiver is provided with a recess or out in its side, extending from the wall 6 to the wall 7, and after the cam a has passed the cam-lug b the bolt will have been forced forward the desired distance, and the remainder of therotation of the bolt is in a straight line and the cam a escapes from the cam-lug b in order that the strain resulting from the recoil may not bear against those lugs; but the construction is such that the rear face of the heel of the handle bar next the bolt will bear against the face of the wall 7, and this being made of the requisite size and strength will take the strain. To further assist in the supporting of the strain upon the bolt and to prevent possibility of bending the bolt, I provide it at its forward end with a lug c, and I provide the receiver with a recess to receive the lug 0 when the bolt is rotated and locked in position, thus providing a bearing at each end of the bolt to receive the impact or recoil.

The eXtractor-bar J is mounted above and upon the bolt E and secured in position in the manner hereinafter set forth. The forward end of the extractor-bar is recessed to receive the extractor-spring e, which is provided with a stud, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, to hold the same in position. The forward end of the extractor-spring is provided with a catch f, and the recess in the extractor-bar made to receive the extractor spring is cut away above the elastic portion of the spring to allow it to spring upwardly a sufficient distance to permit the catch f to pass over the flange upon the cartridge-shell.

The extractor-bar and parts attached thereto moveforward and backward with the bolt, but do not rotate therewith. The bolt is interiorly recessed, as shown in Fig. 4, and the firing-pin spindle and firing-pin head are mounted therein, the firing-pin head being provided at its forward portion with a projecting pin which strikes against the cartridge-prim er when the pin is thrown forward.

The mainspring N is mounted upon the firing-pin spindle and bears at one end against the firing-pin head K and at its opposite end against the cocking-piece sleeve M. The rear portion of the firing-pin spindle is provided with a cocking-shoulder R, which is preferably made integral with said spindle, and the lower portion of said cocking-shoulder is provided with a projecting part Z, against which the catch or sear piece In engages when the arm is raised to the f ull-cock, and which piece is also provided with a recess m, into which said catch fits and maintains the arm at half-.

cook. The cocking-shoulder and firing-pin spindle attached thereto are maintained in position to prevent rotation by the employment of the cocking-piece sleeve M, the same being slotted in its under side, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, to permit the passage of the cocking-piece R therein. The bolt is provided with an angular or cam-shaped cut 8, in which the nose of the cocking-piece R passes when the firing-pin is released and spring operates to throw the same forward to explode the cartridge, this opening being so located and shaped that the said cocking-piece may pass therein when the bolt is rotated to its locked positioni. a, when the handle-bar is in its lowered or horizontal positionand when the handle-bar is moved upward and the bolt rotated to its unlocked position the inclined wall of the cut 8 bears against the nose of the cocking-piece R and forces the same rearward, thus carrying the firing-pin spindle and the firing-pin head in the same direction and compressing the mainspring until the sear or trigger catch engages the nose of the cocking-piece R, at which time the bolt has reached its limit of rotation and is free to be moved backward, carrying the parts attached thereto with it. When, however, the bar is forced forward again and the bolt rotated to its locked position, the nose of the cocking-piece R will engage the searcatch it and the spring be maintained in its compressed position until the trigger 0 be operated, which causes the catch 7a to be drawn downwardly, thus releasing the part with which it is in engagement and allowing the spring to operate to impel the firing-pin head and parts thereto attached forward and thus explode the cartridge. The forward end of the firing-pin spindle is provided with a knob 9, and the rear portion of the firing-pin head K is provided with a recess adapted to receive said knob, a out being made in the side of the head to allow the passage of said knob to its central line.

The cocking-piece sleeve M is provided with a part 2', one wall of which is dovetailed, and the bolt is provided with a like part j, one wall of which is dovetailed and the opposite wall being vertical, the two parts i and j forming together a complete dovetail and formed to fit within a dovetailing-recess in the extractor-bar J. A spring 11 is mounted upon the extractor-bar and is provided with a pin or part 0, which enters a recess in the cocking-piece sleeve adapted to receive the same. This pin prevents the rotation of the cocking-piece sleeve, and the cocking-piece sleeve prevents the rotation of the firing-pin spindle and parts attached, and the arrangement of the extractor-bar within the receiver is such that while having free forward and backward motion rotation of the same is effectually prevented.

The dovetailed part j upon the bolt is extended backwardly for at least one-quarter of its circumference, so that the bolt may be rotated without disengagement of the dovetailed piece j from the dovetailed recess into which it fits. It will be seen, therefore, that the construction of the operative portions of the lock is such that the employment of screws is entirely avoided and that by raising the spring it until the pin 0, attached thereto, escapes from its recess in the sleeve M and when so raised by rotating the sleeve M until its dovetailed portion i escapes from the recess into which it fits the parts may all be separated, cleaned, and replaced in position again with but little trouble and without the employment of any tools whatever.

In the assembling of the parts in position the sleeve M is first placed over the spindle L. The mainspring is then placed in position upon the spindle, the head K locked to the spindle, and the whole forced into the bolt from its rear end ,the extractor-bar J being placed in position and the bolt rotated to carry its dovetailed piece j into the dovetailed receiving-recess, the pin 0 raised to allow the rotation of the sleeve M to carry the dovetailed piecct' into its receiving-recess, and the pin 0 released, allowing the spring it to force it into its recess, when the whole of this portion of the operative mechanism will be in condition for application to the receiver, the locking of the parts together, as hereinbefore stated, being performed after the bolt end has been thrust into the receiver.

When the bolt is withdrawn, the side 'slit in the receiver through which the cartridges pass as they escape from the magazine is opened and one cartridge passes from the magazine into the receiving chamber, and when the bolt is thrust forward it bears against the rear end of the cartridge-shell, and if the same binds tightly it will be forced forward with perfect case when the handlebar is carried downward, thus rotating the bolt and operating the cam or inclined faces, as before set forth.

To prevent possibility of the bolt striking against more than one cartridge, (the bolt in this instance being of greater diameter than the cartridge-shells,) I cut away at an incline from the front rearward a small portion of the bolt, so that in its forward motion the end of the bolt engages only the cartridge found in the receiver, and if a cartridge be found in the opening through which the cartridges pass and its rear portion projects at all in the track of the bolt it will be forced backward by the engagement of said inclined face at the forward portion of the bolt. This inclined face, it will be seen, is to be formed only upon the side which lies next the cartridge-receiving opening when the handle-bar is in vertical position. The portion of the receiver into which the end of the extractorbar fits is cut away, as shown at 10 in Fig. 8, so that the portion of the extractor-bar fitting therein may be enlarged to give the requisite Strength.

The sear P is pivotally mounted in the receiver-frame and is provided with a spring 72, which is preferably made integral therewith, the same being formed by cutting a slot in the sear-piece and tempering the narrow portion separate from the main part. The trigger O is pivotally attached to the sear P and is provided with a rearwardly-proj ecting arm, which when the trigger is drawn downward bears against the lower wall of the receiverframe, and thus throws the free end of the sear downward, carrying with it the catchpiece 7;, mounted upon the sear, and thus releasing the firing mechanism.

The base or lower portion of the receiverchamber is provided with an inclined recess, made therein, which, starting from the surface a short distance back of the explosionchamber, grows deeper to a point distant from the rear of the explosion-chamber a trifle in excess of the length of a shell, at which point said recess stops, and is provided with a vertical wall, and as the exploded shell is withdrawn by the engagement of the extractorcatch f it draws the shell rearwardly until the flange of the shell strikes against said wall of said recess, which causes the tilting of the shell upwardly, and the same is thus thrown from the receiving-chamber. This recess is shown in the drawings in Fig. 8.

A finger-piece may be mounted upon the cocking-piece R to facilitate compressing the spring, if desired, without the rotation of the bolt.

The opening in the receiver for the passage of the cartridges to the chamber or well is provided with a transverse cut or recess to receive the flange on the cartridge-shell. This cut is preferably made wider at the side toward the magazine.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A magazine for firearms having an opening to discharge the cartridges, a cover on the magazine, a spring-catch to hold the cover down, and a spring attached to the wall having the lower free end thereof projecting beyond the magazine and adapted to hold said magazine in position, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the receiver formed with an opening to take the cartridges and with a plate extending vertically downward, a magazine formed with an opening to discharge the cartridges into the receiver-opening and having a spring attached to the wall ing one face fitting the corresponding dovetail, and the sleeve M provided with a lug i fitting the remainder of the same recess, said lugs and 2' allowing a relative rotation but not allowing relative longitudinal motion between the pieces J, E and M, substantially as described.

4. In a firearm, the combination of the eX- tractor-bar J provided with a dovetailed recess, the spring 01 attached to said bar and provided with a pin 0 engaging with the sleeve M, the sleeve M provided with a lug engaging a portion of said dovetailed recess, and a breech-bolt E provided with a lug also engaging in said recess, both said lugs preventing any relative longitudinal motion, substantially as described.

5. In a firearm, the combination of the r0- tatable hollow breech-bolt, the hollow slotted sleeve M, said'breech-bolt and sleeve each being provided with a lug adapted to enter a recess in the extractor-bar, and the extractorbar provided with a spring attachment adapted to prevent the rotation of said sleeve, substantially as described.

THOMAS E. WILSON. WVitnesses:

ALLEN WEBSTER, MILAN W. BULL. 

